Federal Employees and Retirees Options for dental and vision insurance
”This new dental and vision program provides new health care choices for the federal family,” said Linda Springer, director of OPM. “Those covered will be able to enroll for comprehensive dental benefits, comprehensive vision benefits, or both, and employees will be able to use pretax payroll deductions to acquire their additional dental and vision benefits.”
“Federal employees and retirees will have seven choices for dental benefits and three choices for vision benefits beginning in December, the Office of Personnel Management said May 5. The new dental and vision options, which Congress mandated in 2004, will be available to all employees eligible for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and all retirees, although neither employees nor retirees have to be enrolled in a health plan to participate.
Enrollment will begin Nov. 13, which coincides with the 2007 open season for health insurance, and the insurance will take effect Dec. 31. Enrollees will be able to choose one of three options: self coverage, self plus one, or self and family.
OPM chose seven insurance companies to offer the dental insurance. Four are national plans: MetLife of New York; GEHA of Kansas City, Mo.; United Concordia of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Aetna of Hartford, Conn. Three more will be available only to employees in certain regions: GHI of New York, covering employees in and around New York City; CompBenefits of Roswell, Ga., available in the Southeast and Midwest; and Triple-S of San Juan, Puerto Rico, for employees there.
Premiums for the plans won’t be announced until closer to the open season, said Dan Green, deputy associate director of OPM’s Center for Employee and Family Support Policy. The premiums and plan offerings proposed by insurance companies during the bidding process might be fine-tuned by OPM and the companies before final rates are determined, Green said.”
source: Federal Times and Govexec.com
Related link:
Postal Employees Health Benefits Information
May 25th, 2006 at 2:19 am
It always baffled me as to why dental and vision was never included in health insurance plans. I guess being able to see and chew are not really necessary in ones life.
May 27th, 2006 at 4:21 am
This would really be appreciated as my newest glasses ran me $469.00 and they used my old frames. Also, my plan has dental on it, but it is so minute that it does’t do a great deal. As a retired postal employee, I can use all the help I can get. 66% doesn’t go very far now days.
May 27th, 2006 at 5:51 am
Linda, what a deal $469.00. My eyeglasses cost me clsoe to $600 using my own frames.
I don’t have a dental plan so each visit to the dentist is very expensive.
June 25th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
Not to endorse any company here, but…..
If you need glasses I would strongly advise you to check out Costco. I FSA’d a bundle one year planning to buy my daughter one new pair of glasses (very strong prescription) and ended up going to Costco and buying her two pairs for less than what I used to pay for one pair (I paid about what the two of the previous posters did). Suffice it to say my FSA went a lot further going that route…..
The frames and lens work was excellent (according to my daughters doctor) and I was able to scratch resistance and in one pair transition lenses for a fraction of what others charge. Now she is older and wearing contacts, Costco sells them for less than what my daughters optometrist’s office can BUY them for (at their cost). Even they reccomended I go there. ( a years worth of disposable’s (sp?) is about $250.) Check it out, it might work well for you, even if you have to drive a ways…..
October 15th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
I hope they keep the prices for the policies reasonable.
October 22nd, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Hey, you have a great blog here! I’m definitely going to bookmark you!
October 30th, 2006 at 10:29 am
I just had a tooth “knocked out” and had to have a root canal, which turned out to be complicated and required microscopic drilling. Then, my dentist recommended an implant, but, of course, the insurance does not acknowledge ANY need for this type of treatment–ever. After all the preparatory work is done and the crown in in place, my annual benefit of $1000 is long gone, and my husband, a mail carrier, struggling to find extra money to pay our cost, which is in excess of $1000. This is a front tooth, not exactly a frivolous procedure. What, I wonder, happens when more than one tooth is extracted at one time, because of a freak incident? If the family is struggling, as ours is, do they simply decide to leave the injured person toothless? This is shameful….with a premium of almost $100 a month.